April 2019 Newsletter
From Dock Street to the Food Distribution Center to 6700 Essington Ave.
Centuries before the state-of-the-art Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market opened in 2011, produce played a major role in the Philadelphia region. Dock Street, which was first identified by William Penn as a good place for ships to dock, became a mecca for commerce and the first wholesale produce market. Ben Franklin was instrumental in petitioning city leaders to keep the area clean so that the food trade could flourish there. By the mid 20th century, Philadelphia’s City Planning Director, Edmund Bacon, convinced the city to buy the land around Dock Street to invest in the city’s infrastructure and the produce merchants moved to the newly created Food Distribution Center in South Philly. After 52 years, another new era of produce buying and selling began at the Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market on Essington Avenue.
Looking for Pricing?
Visit the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service.
